Chapter 3: Don’t Look, You’ll Get Styes

“Bang!”

The moment Lu Qiaoqing burst through the door, the scene inside the room was laid bare.

Chen Ziyun, who had been knocked unconscious by Shen Chuning, had apparently woken up sometime before.

He was currently disheveled, clinging to the mosquito net pole on the bed, engaging in an unspeakable act.

The loud bang of the door breaking open jolted him awake.

He stared blankly at the crowd gathered outside.

“Ah——”

Lu Qiaoqing, who was at the forefront, screamed.

Chen Ziyun came to his senses and hastily pulled up his pants.

Shen Chuning, squeezed among the crowd, was also stunned by the sight.

In her dream, when Lu Qiaoqing broke down the door, Chen Ziyun wasn’t holding the pole; he was holding her.

If she hadn’t had that dream, if she hadn’t knocked Chen Ziyun unconscious and run away in time, then…

She felt a chill run down her spine, her body trembling slightly.

She would absolutely not allow her dream to become reality! Absolutely not!

Just then, a dry, rough hand covered her eyes from behind. Zhou Yubai’s voice reached her ears, “Don’t look, you’ll get styes.”

Shen Chuning: …

Her ears instantly turned red.

Lu Qiaoqing never expected to see such a scene when she burst through the door.

Wang Yumeng was also stunned.

What was going on?

Where was Shen Chuning?

This wasn’t what she had planned with Chen Ziyun!

To completely ensnare Shen Chuning, the female protagonist of the book, she had even painfully sacrificed and given Chen Ziyun the medicine, so that Chen Ziyun and Shen Chuning would truly have something happen, and then she could get the koi jade pendant, the strongest cheat code in the book, from Shen Chuning.

But now…

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Wang Yumeng’s eyes. Chen Ziyun’s reputation was ruined, but Shen Chuning couldn’t be allowed to escape.

She had seen with her own eyes Shen Chuning drink the drugged water.

Shen Chuning couldn’t have escaped; she must still be in Chen Ziyun’s room. She had to find her!

She rolled her eyes and quietly persuaded Lu Qiaoqing, “Hey, Qiaoqing, let’s go. Shen Chuning’s beauty surpasses all of us city girls. Comrade Chen must be deeply infatuated with her, even disregarding his own reputation to protect her…”

Lu Qiaoqing, still reeling from the shock, instantly flared up in anger, finding her anchor.

“Impossible! Comrade Chen couldn’t be fooled by that superficial airhead!”

Lu Qiaoqing said, stepping into Chen Ziyun’s room in two strides, “Comrade Chen, we all know you’re a kind and protective comrade towards women!

But a female hooligan like Shen Chuning is not a good comrade at all. You don’t need to protect her!”

Regardless of Chen Ziyun’s current embarrassment, Lu Qiaoqing directly began searching his room.

Her first target was Chen Ziyun’s bed.

However, when she lifted Chen Ziyun’s blanket, the bed was empty.

The onlookers began to murmur.

“Tsk tsk, Comrade Chen usually looks so refined and upright, but unexpectedly, he’s such a shameless person.”

“This room is so small, where could she hide? Comrade Lu says Shen Chuning is hiding in the room, I wonder what her intentions are.”

“What intentions? These educated youths have improper conduct and are corrupting morals, and they want to frame someone from our village, right?”

“Our Ci Hang Village has such good morals! Even if Shen family’s daughter is spoiled and likes to sway her hips to seduce men, she wouldn’t do something as shameless as this!”

…

Shen Chuning, listening to these words, her face turned pale, her eyes reddening, on the verge of tears again.

When did she ever sway her hips to seduce men?

Her body was just built this way; she could only sway her hips to walk normally. Was that also a problem?

However, this wasn’t the time to argue with the villagers.

She sniffed, wiped away her tears of grievance, and anxiously pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

She said angrily, “Comrade Lu, clarify what you said. Why am I not a good comrade? Why am I a female hooligan?”

“If you don’t clarify, I’ll go to the village committee and accuse you of slander!”

Lu Qiaoqing looked at Shen Chuning, then at Wang Yumeng.

Wang Yumeng had clearly told her that she saw Shen Chuning enter Chen Ziyun’s room and never came out.

Wang Yumeng was also stunned. Shen Chuning was clearly in Chen Ziyun’s room and drank the water she gave her, so how…?

But this wasn’t the time to investigate how Shen Chuning left. The key was to make Shen Chuning feel indebted to Chen Ziyun today.

She gave Chen Ziyun a wink.

Chen Ziyun, although he wanted to find a hole to hide in, thought of the miraculous properties of the jade pendant Wang Yumeng mentioned, and their future happiness.

He walked to Shen Chuning, his face full of anger, “Shen Chuning, didn’t we agree to… tonight in my room… Where did you run off to, making me lose so much face!”

Shen Chuning looked at him in terror, taking several steps back.

“Comrade Chen, don’t talk nonsense. I only agreed to borrow two books from you. You doing that shameless thing, losing face has nothing to do with me!

I’m a clean and innocent woman. Why would you say such ambiguous things to ruin my reputation?” Shen Chuning said, sobbing and hiccuping.

Zhou Yubai didn’t know what was going on, but seeing her cry like this, he felt a little unbearable.

He stepped forward, his sharp gaze falling on Chen Ziyun and Lu Qiaoqing, “The people in our village respect you educated youths for your knowledge and culture, for coming to help us build our hometown.

Is your knowledge and culture used to slander the good comrades in our village? You have unjustly slandered Comrade Shen’s reputation, you must apologize to Comrade Shen and go to the village committee for ideological re-education!”

Shen Chuning felt the strong aura of the man beside her, her red, rabbit-like eyes looking at him, feeling full of security.

Lu Qiaoqing’s face turned green.  Make her apologize to Shen Chuning, that vixen? And go to the village committee to receive ideological re-education with those backward elements?

She was a thousand times unwilling.

But facing Zhou Yubai’s intimidating aura, she dared not utter a word of rebuttal.

Moreover, not only Zhou Yubai, but the onlookers were all on Shen Chuning’s side.

These educated youths, who came to the countryside, worked less than the local villagers and still received rations and money from the collective. The villagers were already dissatisfied with them.

Even though Shen Chuning was spoiled and useless, she was still a local.

Now that a local was being bullied by outsiders, how could the villagers swallow this?

Lu Qiaoqing, facing the angry gazes of the crowd, gritted her teeth and said, “Shen Chuning, I’m sorry!”

Shen Chuning blinked her red eyes, “Comrade Lu, what did you say? I can’t hear you?”

Lu Qiaoqing was furious, her molars almost grinding to pieces.

This bitch Shen Chuning was deliberately humiliating her!

“Comrade Shen, I’m sorry! I was wrong!” Lu Qiaoqing said loudly.

Shen Chuning then said with a smile, “The great leader said, those who know their mistakes and can correct them are still good comrades. Comrade Lu, you are a cultured person, apologies must be sincere. Write an apology letter tonight and post it on the bulletin board of the village committee tomorrow, and I will forgive you.”

Lu Qiaoqing’s chest heaved violently with anger.  Make her write an apology letter? Shen Chuning was deliberately humiliating her!

But Zhou Yubai stood behind Shen Chuning, supporting her, and she dared not refuse.

She could only grit her teeth and say, “Okay, I’ll write the apology letter.”

Shen Chuning turned to Chen Ziyun, her face puffed up again, “Comrade Chen, haven’t you realized your mistake yet? Don’t you plan to apologize to me?”

Zhou Yubai glanced at the little woman, who was like a clawing little white rabbit, a smile playing on his lips that he himself didn’t notice.

This woman, though spoiled, was not weak.